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On Nov. 5, the Minot State University Native American Club will host speaker Dr. Ramona Klein in recognition of Native American Heritage Month.
Klein will share her personal experiences as a survivor of the Fort Totten Boarding School and discuss the lasting impact boarding schools have had on Indigenous communities, according to the club.
There will be a campus event at 11 a.m. for students, staff and faculty and a community event, free and open to the public, at 6 p.m. Both sessions will take place in the Hartnett Hall Collaboration Space.
"I wanted everyone to get a chance to hear from her," said Lisa Hale, Native American Cultural Center coordinator and club adviser. "I wanted the campus event to be for people who are on campus, students, staff and faculty. Then the community event for people who can't make it to the campus event because people have school and work. If they're able to make it in the evening, at least they'll get a chance to hear from her."
Residential boarding schools were implemented in Canada and America for more than 160 years, beginning in the early 19th century and ending in 1997. Indigenous children were forcibly separated from their families, tribes and homes as the government, along with many churches, culturally assimilated the children.
"It's important not only for Native Americans to hear from a firsthand survivor, but it’s important for those who have never heard of boarding schools to say 'Hey, this really happened,'” Hale said. "It’s not in the textbooks or a widely known thing, but people have been through a lot."
It is estimated more than 150,000 Native children were taken from their homes and more than 973 children died in the U.S. residential school system, according to the Coalition of Natives and Allies.
"A lot of us are still struggling to find our culture because our parents didn't have it if they attended the school, or grandparents," Hale said. "Language was lost. Tradition was lost. I think having a survivor come and speak with the campus and the community is going to raise a lot of awareness and education for that."
Minot State’s Native American club and cultural center were established in the late 1980s and mid 1990s. Hale said the center is students’ home away from home, and events, such as bringing in speakers, are a way to promote public awareness and education.
"I try and get participation and speakers for Native Americans students to feel more closer to home," Hale said. "To see their culture and hear from people from their culture, it's a good educational opportunity."